Thursday
July 11, 2019

I walked into the band room for the 7:45 am breathing class and was immediately struck by the fact that many of the students that I saw on Tuesday have stopped breathing! Mr. De La Garza, who is a tuba player, was leading the campers in a video of The Breathing Gym today.

Here are some pencil drawings that I made of the first-hour classes. These are Mr. Garcia's white band bassoons.

The junior high symphonic oboes.

Mr. Swails and his junior honor bass clarinets.

Mrs. DuBois has to keep the concert band bass clarinets separated because they fight all the time....

...and so she can be in the picture.

The symphonic trombones are with Dr. Shanks.

Here are some shady characters. (My fault taking a picture into the sun.)

Symphonic horns with Dr. Manfredi.

Dr. Lewis and the symphonic band euphoniums and tubas.

Dr. Garner rehearses with the honor band in the Branding Iron Theatre. My picture skills are bad, but I can get them worse in this environment.

The junior honor band rehearses in Legacy Hall. Mrs. Bulloch is working with the brass and percussion sectional.

End of first period,so let's try a few second period classes. Mr. Freeman was helping a student match a pitch coming through the sound system. The is the maroon band saxophones.

Junior honor band tubas. I think I got distracted, so I'll come back tomorrow.

Junior honor band trombones. Mr. Myers is their teacher this week.

Honor band saxophones and Dr. Barger.

Third period for the classes I wanted to take picture of started at 11:30. I was a little early to the junior symphonic euphoniums and tubas. (It's usually called tuba/euph. Be sure to put the forward slash in if you are talking to an afficionado or someone who thinks he is.) The first thing that campers do is read the daily bulletin. It tells of the events for that day. I'll take pictures while they're not paying any attention to me. (Story of my life.) This sectional meets in the glass room, upstairs in the cafeteria.

The junior symphonic trumpets meet in Shirley Lobby, one of the residence halls. Mr. Anderson is their teacher this week.

Oh, there's my grandson. Hi, Brody. (I guess he didn't hear me, because he didn't look up.)

Off to Jones Hall, the second floor lobby, where we see Mr. Barney and the junior varsity saxophones.

We'll climb another floor to visit Mr. Summersgill and the junior symphonic horns.

Mr. Montgomery is on the fourth floor with the junior symphonic trombones.

Mrs. Freeman is in a side room in the Activities Center with the junior symphonic percussion.

The junior concert band has a full band rehearsal the third period. Mrs. Mitchell is working with the band when I was there. Ms. O'Bryant is the co-director this week, and she's back in the percussion section helping those students. (I see a granddaughter in this band. Do you know which one she is?)

Mr. Rivera is working with the junior symphonic woodwinds.

Lunch break.... Let's check out the 1:45 classes. There are a lot of ensembles of like instruments, but there are other choices as well. This is a music theory class with Dr. Brooks.

Remember Mr. Summersgill from before lunch? Now he's in Northen Hall with the junior high horn ensemble.

Mrs. Brooks has the second music theory class.

The oboe reed making room.

Dr. Barger has the high school saxophone ensemble.

Mrs. Henson is rehearsing high school flute ensemble II.

The high school tuba/euph ensemble, with Dr. Lewsi conducting.

And the last of the 1:45s today is Mr. Freeman's junior high saxophone ensemble. They were doing an arrangement of This Old Man and later they did Jurassic Park. They sounded pretty good. All of the 1:45 ensembles will perform for each other next Thursday starting at 1:30. The high schoolers are in Northen Recital Hall and the junior high schoolers are in the Branding Iron Theatre.

High school students ready to enter NRH for their 3 pm assembly.

At the junior high school assembly, the contest was to wrap up a partner in Toy Story-themed green crepe paper.

Because the bassoonists in woodwind ensemble can't go to bassoon reed making at 1:45, Dr. Carpenter meets with them at 4:30

Yikes! Too close! Too close! Back away! Warning! Student holding cane! Ready to strike! Warning!

I told you that there is a workshop for band directors at 4:30 while the campers are involved in intramurals. Mr. Clardy spoke about stuff he has learned from his mentors that benefitted his career.

Meanwhile, there's also a 4:30 drum majoring class.

And that's all that I have for today.

Tomorrow, on the other hand, will be a different day.